Article dispensing device



Jan- 27, 1948. w. s. coNNELL Erm. 2,435,177

RTICLE'- DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Aug. 12'. 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan-27, 1948- w. s. coNNELL Erm. 2,435,177

ARTICLE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Aug. l2, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 PatentedJan. 27, 1948 ARTICLE DISPENSING DEVICE William S. Connell, Norwood ParkTownship, Cook County, Ill.; and Paul F. Boettcher and Carl M. Holmen,Grand Haven, Mich., assignors to The Bastian-Blessing Company, Chicago,Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 12, 1944, Serial No.549,146

14 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved dispensing apparatusgenerally operated or released for manual operation by a coin controlledmechanism to dispense articles one at a time, particularly bottles suchas those used in handling soft drinks for public consumption.

Although the invention can be used equally well for dispensinguncarbonated drinks. it is particularly useful in dispensing bottledcarbonated drinks since one of the features of the invention is thehandling of a bottle with a minimum amount of agitation to the contents.

Not only does the invention handle a bottle with a minimum amount ofagitation of the contents, but the invention is further characterized bya construction and arrangement of parts in which an unusually largenumber of bottles are handled with a minimum amount of danger of damageto the bottles, it being easy .to place the bottles inv their storedposition ready for dispensing and at no time are the bottles handledviolently during the dispensing operations.

In considering these advantages and objects of the invention, it will beappreciated by those who have had occasion to open carbonated beveragebottles that much of the carbonation of the' drink is lost and sometimespart of the drink itself by the ebullition which occurs or is caused byhandling a bottle violently enough to agitate the contents of the bottleprior to opening. This is particularly true where the drink has a-greatdeal of sweetening in it or is supercharged with carbonated water togive the drink a dry taste.

Most bottles dispensed by a machine are opened by the purchaser at themachine with a cap lifter provided for that purpose. The lifter isfastened tothe machineover a waste cap receptacle. The capped end of thebottle is inserted under the lifter and the body of the bottle forceddownwardly. The position of the bottle prior to being forced downwardlyis an upwardly inclined one as held by the hand, and one of the objectsof the present invention isy to deliver the bottle in approximately thatposition without prior agitation and for convenience in handling thebottle from the moment that itis made available by the dispensingapparatus. In delivering the bottle in this position with the leastamount of agitation, the bottles are stored in vertical rows alreadydisposed in this relative position from which the bottles may be slidaxially along a short inclined path to their delivered position.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedconstruction and arrangement by which the bottles thus disposed may be 2supported in large quantities around the periphery of a drum ,which canbe step rotated to dis.- pense the bottles one by one as controlled by acoin release mechanism.

A further object ofthe present invention is to drop the' bottles one byone from the bottom of each vertical row with the least amount ofviolence or danger of breakage to the remaining bottles.

Another object of the invention is to utilize the general contour ofbottles in handling vertically stacked bottles.

A further object of the invention resides in the elimination of thedanger of breaking or chipping bottles which is incurred withconventional dispensing devices where the bottles-have to be inserted atthe top of the drum and lowered into place. With the present inventionthe replenishing bottles are inserted directly into the stacking channelin an upright position at the level immediately above the uppermostbottle in the channel and then tilted inwardly to lie in an inclinedposition.

A further feature of the invention resides in combining the advantagesof a gravity delivery with the space saving accomplished by disposingthe necks of the bottles inwardly where the geometric circumferencenarrows with a reduced radius and with the wide bottoms disposedoutwardly where the geometric circumference of the drum is much greater.

The invention is further characterized by an improved device of theclass described by which the bottles are dispensed one after the otherfrom the bottom of the rows of vertically stored bottles in whichthe-older bottles are dispensed before replenishing bottles are reached.

These being among the objects, further objects will become apparent fromthe claims, the drawings and the description relating to the drawings.

In the drawings: A,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a bottle dispensing apparatusembodying a preferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken upon the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig, 3 is a portion of the section shown in Fig. 2 enlarged toillustrate the manner in which the lowermost bottle is separated fromthe stack of bottles above it and released at'the dispensing ordischarge point.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken through the cabinet illustrated inFig. 1 with the section line through the dispensing drum stepped fromthe top to the bottom thereof to show the sectional contour of thedispensing drum at different levels.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which bottlesremaining in the stack are lowered into position to bring the nextbottle into dispensing position after the lowermost bottle has beendischarged. i

Before referring to the detalls of construction,

it will be noted that the general construction is one in which arefrigerated cabinet Iii has a drum II mounted therein for rotationabout a vertical axis upon a shaft I2. The periphery of the drum I I isdivided into a plurality of vertically disposed slideways in whichbottles I3 are stacked in an inclined position with their bottomsdisposed outwardly and their tops inwardly at a slant of approximately a35 angle. The bottles I3 are dispensed one at a time from the bottom ofthe stacks through a discharge opening I4 as the drum I I is rotated andindexed by an intermittent drive controlled by a coin release mechanismI5. The lowermost bottle in each row is brought successively intodischarge position and released, while the bottles above the previouslydischarged bottle are lowered into place by a ramp mechanism I6. Y

As each bottle is discharged, it moves bottom first outwardly into thedischarge opening I4 merely by sliding lengthwise a very short dis tanceand without changing its relative inclined position. From the dischargeopening the bottle can be picked up by hand. The contents of the bottleduring the process are not agitated to any substantial degree from thetime that the bottle leaves its position on the drum and the time thatit has its neck inserted into the cap lifter 9.

The drum II comprises a top spider I1 and lower plate I8, (Fig. 2) witha cylindrical member serving as an interconnecting spacer at the centerand channel members 24 radially disposed about the member 20 secured atthe top to the spider I1 and at the bottom to the plate I8.

The cylindrical member 20 is either formed of a casting, an extrusion orof corrugated sheet metal to provide therein circumferentially spacedvertically disposed grooves 2| which receive the tops 22 of the bottlesI3 therein in guided relationship so that the tops of the bottles willslide down the cylindrical member when free to do so. The cylindricalmember may be mounted in any suitable manner upon the spider and plateas by recesses 23 in which the ends of the cylindrical member 20 arereceived and held in indexed re1a` tonship therewith so that the spider.and plate are located in predetermined positions with respect to thegrooves 2|.

The channel members 24 are shaped in cross section somewhat like afanciful numeral 2" in which the topY 25 is adapted to engage the bottomj of the bottle to prevent it from moving radially outwardly and thebottom 26 serves to space the bottles circumferentially around the drum.The top 25 will be referred to as the retaining edge while the bottom 2Gas the spacer. As shown, the two are parts of one member but it will beappreciated that they can be provided in two separate members.

Between the retaining edge 25 of one channel member 24 and the edge 21gf the spacer 26 of the next adjacent channel member is enough room toreceive a bottle therethrough when the bottle is disposed in a verticalposition. With this arrangement. vertically disposed bottles areinserted between the channel members ata'point slightly lateral to thetrue radius of their testing 4 v position until the side of the bottleis brought into engagement with the reaining edge of the channel member.The top of the bottle is then leaned inwardly to an inclined position inwhich the cap on the bottle engages in the corresponding groove 2| uponthe cylindrical member 20. In this position the end 21 of the spacer 26locks the bottle against displacement except in a vertical direction,thereby permitting it to slide up and down. 'I'he spacing between theretaining edge 25 and the groove 2| is such that the bottle is held in aposition of.approximately 35 angle. Thus the bottles can be inserted atany place along the channel 24 and tilted into position with a minimumamount of danger of breakage and th' spacing between the retaining edge25 and the groove 2| can beA predetermined in relationship to the sizeof the bottle to be dispensed so that the invention can be arrangedwhereby any bottle hav' ing a bottom, sides and neck can be handled bysuch a dispensing device constructed to handle a particular bottle. The35 angle is not critical since it Amay be and preferably is less wherethe bottle .will slide out of position under its own weight when free todo so.

The upper ends of the channel members 24 are cut away as at 28 to securemaximum filling of the drum. The cutaways serve as an indication thatthe drum is full when the tops of the bottle stacks have`reached thatlevel. The remaining portion of the upper ends of the channel membersare received in suitable sockets (not shown in detail) in the top spiderI1 inside the axially disposed flange 30 provided on the spider I1, andthe flange 30 is reinforced with a ring 3l having outwardly directedgear teeth 32 cut thereon (Fig. 4) to engage the teeth on the drive gear33.

When disposed at 35 or less, the outward thrust of the bottles againstthe retaining edge 25 of thechannel member 24 is not great, most of theweight of the bottles being directed vertically. However, to carry theoutward thrust that is exerted at the bottom of the bottle, the channelmembers 24 are shaped so that they will not yield appreciably under thiseffort.

At the lower ends the channel members are cut away on the retaining edge25 as at 34 up to a certain height to leave the spacer portion 26 toextend downwardly to be secured to the plate I8 in a suitableshake-proof engagement as hereinafter described with reference to bolts31, this' lower end of the spacer can be straight or curved inwardly,depending upon the fitting of the parts that is required to accommodateany particular bottle size for which the device is built to handle.Raised portions 35 may be provided upon the face 39 of the plate I8 toserve asguides or dividers receiving the bottles therebetween prior todischarge. However, as shown in Fig. 5, it is preferred to provide boththe dividers 35 and also the extending lower portions of the spacer 26by which the bottles are guided all the way from the top t0 and inposition immediately above the plate I8, recesses 36 being provided inthe front faces 'of the dividers 35 to receive the lower ends of thespacers 26 as held in place by bolts 31. The upper face of the plate I8otherwise may be of any contour desired although it is preferred forpurposes of convenience in handling the bottles that it be inclined alsoat a 45 angle.

The bottles do not normally rest against the face of the plate in thepreferred form but rather the lowermost bottle has its lower bottom edgereceived in a cradle' 38 formed on top of a. lever 40 that is pivotallymounted as at 4| at the periphery of the plate i8. Below the pivot 4Ithe lever 40 is provided with a weight 42 and by reference to Fig. 5 itwill be seen thatthe eifectlve supporting center `of the cradle 38 isdisposed to one side of the pivot 4| with the weight 42 disposed uponthe other side of. the pivot 4I. The cradle 38 supports the base of thebottle above the face of the plate I8 as shown in Fig. 3.

A trip 43 is provided for the lever 48 and when the trip 43 engages thelower side of the lever 48 it moves the weight 42 further to one side ofthe pivot 4|. With this movement the cradle 38 has an action whichlowers the bottle as well as releases it. The lowerrnost bottle thendrops against the face 39 of the plate I8. As the bottle is lowered aplatform 41 supported on the cabinet l by brackets 41a catches thebottles above it and thereby frees the lowered bottle from the weight ofthe bottles above it so that it slides longitudinally through thedischarge opening i4 immediately after it is released by the cradle 38.

By way of assisting the bottle to slide smoothly when the lever 40 istripped, a faring member 44 is secured to the face 39 of the .plate I8with fingers 45 thereon curving upwardly and inwardly in the grooves 2lso as to serve as a guide for the cap of each bottle to prevent the capfrom being torn loose in its movement or the neck of the bottle strikingany portion of the mechanism which might cause it to chip or break. Inaeeommodating the engagement of the platform 41 between the twolowerrnost bottles for the purpose mentioned, the shape or contour ofthe bottles themselves is utilized. The two lowermost bottles .arecocked with respect to each other so that the belly of the bottom bottlesupports the bottles above it and the upperside of the bottom bottle andthe one above it are angularly separated as at 46 to receive theplatform 41 between them. 'I'he platform enters the space 4B just priorto the tripping of the lever 40.

In cooking the two lowermost bottles to provide the space 46, the lowercorner of the bottom bottle is disposed inwardly from a verticalprojection of its preceding position in the rack with the neck of thebottle resting higher in its respective channel 2| than it otherwisewould have occupied. This relationship is shown in Fig. 3 and isattained when the bottle is moved into position upon the cradle 38 afterthe preciding bottle has been discharged from the cradle. The platform41 has a wing 48 thereon that directs the bottom of the bottle inwardlywhen it moves o of the platform 41 and into its new position on thecradle 38 as it is lowered into place by a ramp member 50 secured to theramp I6 (Fig. 3). The edge of the adjacent spacer 2B guides the bottledownwardly in line with the cradle 38`while the wing 48 directs thebottle inwardly enough to catch in the cradle 38 as the bottle islowered by the lowering ramp 5B which ramp eases the bottle, and theweight of all the bottles above it, downwardly into the new positionupon the cradle 38.

The ramp 5D is pivoted at its upper end to the platform 41 to moveupwardly to a horizontal position if upon occasion such is desired.Otherwise, the ramp 5l) is held rigidly in position on the platform 41by a stop mechanism 50a (Fig. 3) to carry the weight of the bottles asthe bottom bottle slides down the ramp and gradually tilts with arolling motion along its belly to separate as at 48 under the influenceof the channel 2| and the wing 48 as the lower bottom edgemoves slightlyinward to catch upon the cradle 38.

6 The platform 41, the ramp Il and the wing 48 are rigidly supportedwith respect to the cabinet I0 and as shown in Fig. 5 are shapedandconstructed to cooperate with the drum when rotated in a clockwisedirectionas viewed in pian. Furthermore. the pivotal arrangement of thecradle 38 in relationship to the weight 42 is `such that its operationto'release and discharge a bottle takes place with the drum movedclockwise as viewed in plan. However, it will be appreciated that areversal construction of these elements could be provided in event thedrum was rotated in the opposite direction.

The trip 43 is also mounted upon the cabinet and comprises a slide boltlocated at a predetermined point to engage the lever 48 at a certaintime in the sequence of operations so that the discharge of the bottleis accomplished in rela tionship to the rotation of the drum at thatpoint a when the bottom of the bottle registers with the dischargeopening i4.

The drum is mounted for rotation upon the shaft l2 by means offrictionless bearings and the shaft in turn is rigidly supported at itsupper end by a bracket 5I secured to the top 52 of the cabinet l0 and atits lower end upon a three legged support one angle bar leg 53 of whichis shown in Fig. 3 bar 53 secured to brackets 54 that are fastened tothe sides 5S of the cabinet I0. The upper frictionless bearing 5B is aradial thrust bearing whose puter race is received in a socket 51provided for that purpose in the spider |1 and the lower frictionlessbearing `58 is an end thrust bearing whose outer race is carried in asocket 60 provided for that purpose in the `plate I8.

As already mentioned, rotation of the drum is had in clockwise directionand is accomplished by means' of the drive gear 33. The gear 33 isdriven through a chain 8| from a manually operated gear $2 connected toa reeiprocable handle 63 through a coin release mechanism so that whenever the proper coin is placed in the coin detector, full movement ofthe handle 63 will operate to rotate the drum on. its back stroke asufcient distance to bring about the discharge of the next bottletherein. The arrangement is tion of the drum is prevented by suitablemeans carried by the gear 33 such as a ratchet (not shown).

Below the bar i3 a blower 84 is provided which draws air down throughcylinder 20 and forces it outwardly over the refrigerating coils 65below the plate I8 to the outside portions of the cabinet l 0. Therefrigerated air is then forced upwardly through and over the bottles tobe drawn back into the cylinder 2|) for recirculation to cool thebottles. The plate i8 isthus formed for this purpose and the spacebetween the plate I8 and the blower which is taken up by the bar 53 isconfined by a sleeve 15 preferably formed integrally with the bar toreenforce it and to maintain this stream of circulation of therefrigeration air so bottles are subjected to the cooling air at itslowest temperature, and suitable bellies to accomplish this may beprovided such as the baille 59 directing the cool air against thebottles.

The coils 65 are cooled by a condenser and to the precoolingcompartment. The body of the cabinet otherwise is made of inner andouterA layers ot sheet metal, or the like, and lled with insulation in aconventional manner.

Access is had to the drum to ll it through a opening 68 closed by a doorarrangement 10 located at the front which arrangement comprises a doubledoor; namely, an outer decorative shell 1| which covers the coincontrolled mechanism and carries the discharge opening I4 having arubber bumper 12 where it cushions the outward movement of a dischargedbottle, and an inner insulated door 13 which provides access directly tothe drum. With this arrangement thecoin control mechanism is madeavailable for repair or maintenance without losing the temperature inthe cabinet l Whereas if it is necessary to service the drum as byreplenishing it with bottles, access can be had through the inner door13. The opening 68 and door 13 are restricted to a width barely sulcientto expose only two stacks of bottles at a time and since the bottles areloaded at the level at which they will rest. the height of the opening68 can be confined to that barely necessary to place the topmost bottlein place. This greatly strengthens the cabinet over conventionalcabinets with large door sizes and also conserves refrigeration.

After-the dispensing apparatus is installed and the refrigerationstarted, the two doors 1| and 13 are opened and the trip pin 43 removedfrom operation. From a supply of charged bottles on hand, the channel 24or slideway on the drum nearest the opening can be filled clear to thetop by quickly inserting each bottle vertically and 'leaning itinwardly. This shortens the iilling time, speeds up servicing andincreases the number of machines that can be serviced in a working dayas limited only by the agility of the operator. When one row is lled,the drum is pulled to rotate clockwise. The lowermost bottle under thesecircumstances is the one resting upon the cradle 38 and this bottlepasses under the platform 41, raises the ramp 0, the ramp 50 slidingbetween the two lowermost bottles as the drum is rotated. The secondslideway is then charged with bottles and each successive slidewaythereafter until the drum` is completely filled.

Thereafter the trip pin 43 is installed in its operative position andthe doors are closed, the handle 63 when. no coins are present beingfree to move backand forth and pass through the opening provided foritsmovexnent in the outer door 1l 'Thereafter when the purchase price ofone or more coins is inserted in the coin detector, movement of thelever will cause the drum to rotate to it next index point during whichrotation the pin 43 will engage the lever 40 and move it in a directionto permit lowering the lowermost bottle .slightly-and permitting thebottle immediately above it to come to rest vupon the platform 41 afterwhich further movement of the lever 40 releases the ylowermost bottle toallow it to drop off of the drum and into the chute leading to thedischarge opening I4 through a normally closed door 49 which preventsdissipation of the cold air from the cabinet. Upon the second and allsubsequent operations of the dispenser, the ramp ill lowers the bottleresting on the platform 41 to its position on the cradle 38 as hasalready been described in which the spacer member 2S guides the bcttledownwardly as it is eased by the ramp 50 and directed inwardly by thewing 48 into position on the cradle 38.

-The wing 48 preferably does not engage the bottom of the bottle butonly the outermost portion of the bottle as the bottle leaves thecontrol ofthe retaining edge on the channel member 24'.' Thus theconstruction is such, including the pivotal mounting of the ramp 50,that the drum Il can be released for clockwiseprotation during loadingoperations without discharging bottlesv Whenever the trip pin 43 ismoved from its operative position. Consequently, once the doors areopenedto provide access to the drum for loading,

the dispenser can be converted for loading and placed back intooperation merely by moving the trip pin 43. Although the trip pin isslldably mounted -for manual movement into and out of its operatingposition, the pin can be moved automatically if desired where the doorspermit cooperation betweenthem for that purpose. In

l such an arrangement the trip pin can be a slide bolt which is urged toits release position by a spring (Fig. 3) but held in its operativeposition by the outer door when the outer door is closed.

Consequently, from the description of the apparatus and its operation,it will be apparent that a dispensing apparatus is provided which can beloaded as fast as bottles can be handled by the service man and that theconversion of the apparatus forV loading purposes as distinguished fromdispensing purposes is reduced to a single adjustment which can beaccomplished manually, or automatically if desired. Y Furthermore, thebottles when dispensed are handled with a minimum of agitation of thecontents with a compact device be appreciated that a power drive can besubstituted for the manual drive represented if l automatic operation isdesired.

Consequently, having thus described the invention and a certainembodiment thereof, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart how the various objects are attained and that various changes can bemade to accommodate articles of different sizes including bottled milk,uncarbonated beverage bottles and other articles very easily withoutdeparting from the. spirit o the invention, the scope of which iscommensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bottle dispensing device including a drum having verticallydisposed elements around the periphery of the drum, said elements beingspaced fromA one another to deneslideways for a. series of bottles ineach of them and being provided with means for obstructing outwardradial movement of the bottles in the slideways, means cooperating withthe obstructing means to support the bottles in inclined positions oneabove another there being suicient space lbetween adjacent elements toinsert the bottles vertically into the slideways prior to tilting themto their inclined position, a cradle meansfor supporting 2. A bottledispensing device including a drum having vertically disposed elementsaround the periphery of the drum, said elements being spaced from oneanother to dene slideways for stacks of bottles in each of them andbeing provided with laterally extending portions obstructing outwardradial movement of the bottles in the'slideways, means cooperating withthe por-A tions to support the bottles in inclined positions one above'another there being suiilcient space between adjacent elements to insertthe bottles vertically into the slideways prior to tilting them to theirinclined position, cradle means for supporting the bottom bottle at anacute angle to those above it and against axial displacement below saidportions, means for releasing the cradle as the drum is rotated as thebottom bottle approaches a discharge point, and means for supporting thebottles above the bottom bottle as said discharge point is approached.

3. A bottle dispensing device including a drum having verticallydisposed elements around the periphery of the drum-said elements beingspaced from one another to denne slideways :for the bottles in each ofthem and being provided with portions obstructing outward radialmovement of the bottles in the slideways, means cooperating with theportions to support the bottles-in inclined positions one above anotherwith suflicient space between adjacent portions to insert the bottlesvertically into the slideways prior to tilting them to their inclinedpition, a plate at the bottom of the drum having an incline under theinfluence of which a bottle thereon will slide oir when free to do so, acradle means and cupped raised portions carried on the plate forsupporting the bottom bottle above the plate and atl an acute angle tothe bottles above it, said cradle holding the bottom bottle againstaxial displacement below said rst named portions, means for removing thecradle as the drum is rotated from contact with the bottom bottle toallow the bottom bottle to lower onto a chute as the bottle approaches adischarge point, and means for supporting the bottles above the bottombottle when said bottom bottle is lowered against said chute.'

holding the bottom bottle in a position of greater incline from whichthe bottle will slide lengthwise under its own weight when free to doso, a releasable stop ior'preventing the bottom bottles slidinglengthwise, and means for transferring a bottle from said slideway meansto said supporting structure when said slideway means is moved relativeto said structure.

5. In an article dispensing apparatus, slideway means for supportingbottles in an inclined position therein one above the other, releasablemeans for supporting the bottom bottle in a position of greaterinclination from which the bottom bottle will slide lengthwise under itsown weight when free to do so, means for tripping the releasable meansto release said bottle at a discharge point, and means whereby thedischarged bottle may be replaced with one from the slideway including aplatform suporting the upper bottles in the slideway while the lowermostbottle is discharged moving in a straight line along the long axis ofthe article and a ramp carrying the replacement bottle to a restingposition on said releasable means when said' last means and said `iirstmeans are moved with respect to one another.

6. In an article dispensing apparatus, slideway means for supportingbottles therein in aninclined position one above the other, cradle meansfor supporting the lowermost bottle in a position of steeper inclinationthan that 'of the other bottles in the slideways from which position thelowermost bottle would slide lengthwise under its own weight when freeto do so and in which position there is space provided between the twolow;

ermost botles in the slideways. means received in said space forsupporting all the bottles above the bottom bottle when said bottombottle is ldepth less than the height of the article to be.dispensedwhereby the articles are supported one above each other in aninclined position, means for supporting the lowerlnost article prior todischarge thereof in a position of greater inclination to provide aspace between the articles at one end, and support means received insaid space between the articles to carry the weightof bottles thereabovewhen the bottle therebelow is discharged as the drum is rotated.

8. In an article dispensing apparatus, a drum having a plurality ofchannels therein of a radial depth less than the height of the articleto be dispensed whereby the articles are supported one aboveeach otherin an inclined position, cradle means for supporting thelowermostarticle prior to discharge thereof in a position of greater inclinationto provide a space between the articles at one end, support meansreceived in said space between the articles to carry the weight ofbottles thereabove when the bottle therebelow is discharged, including apivotally mounted ramp vfor permitting lowering of the next bottle ontothe cradle means following the discharge of the preceding bottle thereonas the drum is rotated.

9. In a device for dispensing elongated articles, a drum havingvertically disposed channel members dening slidewaysvwhose maximumdimension is less than the maximum length of the articles to support thearticle in an inclined position, said channel members being shaped andspaced from one another to provide openings between them throughouttheir length wide enough to receive said articles sidewise therethrough,

`and means for supporting the lowermost article in each slideway inweight supporting relationship for discharge at the bottom of saidsldeways.

10. In a device for dispensing soft drink bottles, a drum havingvertically disposed channel members including vertical elements havinglaterally extending retaining edges Aat the periphery 'of the drum withspacers disposed inwardly thereof and a central element providing avertically disposed groove, said elements dening slideways whose radialwidth is less than the length of the bottles whereby the bottles aresupported in an inclined position, said elements being spaced to provideopenings between them throughout their length wide enough to receive thebottles sidewise therethrough when the bottles are handled in verticalposition, and releasabie means for supporting the bottom bottle inweight' supporting K vertical slideways of a radial depth less than theheight oi an article to be dispensed whereby the articles in theslideways are disposed in an inclined position, a cradle carried by androtatable with the drum for supporting the lowermost article at an acuteangle with respect to the article in the slideway immediately above itto provide a space between them at their outer ends, means carried bythe cabinet for tripping said cradle to release the lowermost articlewhereby the article slides from the drum of its own weight, means forreceiving an article sliding from the drum to deliver it outside of thecabinet in substantially the same inclined position, and means carriedby the cabinet for supporting the articles in the slideway above thearticle being discharged at the time the article is discharged.

12. An article dispensing device comprising a cabinet havingrefrigerated compartment therein, a drum mounted in said compartment forrotation about a vertical axis, a plurality of elements having laterallyextending edges and spaced around the periphery of the drum definingslideways of a radial depthV less than the height of the article to bedispensed, said cabinet having an opening at one side of the drum, aclosure for said opening, a coin control mechanism for rotating andindexing the drum with respect to said openingand, means for releasingthe lowermost article in each slideway as the drum is successivelyindexed to bringl successive slideways opposite the discharge opening.

13. A bottle dispensing apparatus including side by side relationship toadvance them successively to a point of discharge, means forsupportingthe nrst bottle to be discharged at an acute angle withrespect to the next bottle to it to provide a space between the bottlesat their bases, means for releasing the ilrst bottle to permit it to bedischarged at the point of discharge. and means receivable in said spaceto retain the remaining bottles in cooperation with the discharge meanswhile the first bottle is being discharged and to permit the advance oisaid next bottle onto said supporting means after the rst bottle isdischarged.`

14. In an article dispensing apparatus, slideways for supporting bottlestherein one above the other in side by side relationship, a supportmeans for supporting a plurality of bottles in for holding the bottom4bottle in av position disposed at an acute angle to the upper bottlesabove it and at an angle of incline greater than the angle in which saidupper bottles are dis- .posed with respect to the horizon, at whichangle the bottom bottle will slide lengthwise under its own weight whenfree to do so, a releasable stop at the lower of the two ends of thebottom bottle preventing the bottom bottle from sliding lengthwise, anda ramp for lowering a bottle onto said support when the slideways aremoved relative to said ramp.

WILLIAM s. coNNELn PAUL F. BoE'rTcHER.

CARL M. HOLMEN.

REFERENCES CITED l The following references are of record in the ille ofthis patent:

Um'rnn STATES PATENTS

